Library director returns to town

Susan Brown said she is more than happy to be returning to a town and a library she has always loved.

Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil announced on Monday Brown’s appointment as the new director of the Chapel Hill Public Library.

Brown, who received her master’s degree in library science from UNC, is now the marketing director for the Lawrence Public Library in Lawrence, Kan.

She said she works to find creative partnerships and solutions to the underfunding problems that libraries often face. Brown has previously worked at libraries in Raleigh and Virginia.

Brown said she will officially start the job on May 20, and she is thrilled to return to Chapel Hill.

“It’s a town that I love, and it’s also a town that loves its library,” she said.

Brown will return to a newly expanded Chapel Hill Public Library, which is scheduled to reopen in April.

But due to budget constraints, the library will operate on reduced hours.

Both Brown and her husband attended graduate school at UNC, and she said moving back to the area is a great opportunity — both professionally and personally.

Chapel Hill Town Council member Jim Ward, who is the liaison to the Library Board of Trustees, said he thought it was important to hire a director who helps the library become a library of the future.

“It’s not just a place to shelve books, it’s a community meeting place,” Ward said.

Ward said he hopes Brown can help turn the Chapel Hill Public Library into that place for residents.

“We need someone who can articulate that vision,” he said.

And he said the town of Chapel Hill was rigorous in the process of selecting the director, using two rounds of selection to make the decision.

Candidates for the director position were reviewed by town and library staff as well as librarians from other communities, according to a press release.

Assessors also included representatives from the Library Board of Trustees, the Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation and Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library.

The selection team placed a high value on candidates who would engage the community and embrace the digital age of the library.

Brown said she is looking forward to working with the town to set future priorities and goals for the library.

“I am so thrilled to have this opportunity to come back to Chapel Hill,” she said.

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